SAN MARCOS: Supporters of music venue want new rules rolled back

City says it won't review permit until next spring

SAN MARCOS -- Supporters of the Jumping Turtle have a message
for City Hall: Roll back the rules they say are killing their
favorite place to rock!

The popular music venue and restaurant, which allows teens and
20somethings to showcase their bands, was hit with strict new
restrictions this spring. Citing underage drinking and fights at
the Capalina Road business, city officials banned anyone under 21
from the establishment when alcohol is being served and a band is
playing -- including the musicians if they are underage.

They also reduced the number of nights bands can play and wiped
out all cover charges at the Jumping Turtle. Officials have said
the venue operated like a nightclub in the past, though it is not
licensed as one.

The rules have cut business by about half and reduced by roughly
40 percent the number of bands that were booked, said Joe Troutman,
the Turtle's entertainment director.

"We're feeling very bullied by the city," Troutman said this
week. "We feel that they're trying to put us out of business."

To amplify their voice, supporters plan to protest in front of
San Marcos City Hall on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.

City officials say there's been some improvement at the venue
since the rules went into effect May 1. But that doesn't mean the
new entertainment permit rules are going to be repealed.

"The city hasn't and wouldn't consider re-examining a permit
until it is near its expiration," said city spokeswoman Jenny
Peterson.

The permit expires April 30, 2010.

Peterson said the Jumping Turtle has declined the city's offers
to meet and discuss an "all age, no alcohol" venue.

Troutman said the venue's owners don't believe they can afford
to stop selling alcohol. And he questioned whether suspending
alcohol sales for a few hours while bands play is legal under their
state alcohol license.

Robin Van Dyke, district supervisor for the San Marcos office of
the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said pausing
sales for a few hours at a time is fine with the ABC. The conflict
comes when a business ceases all alcohol sales for 15 consecutive
days. If that happened, the business would have to surrender its
permit, she said.

Alcohol has been at the root of many problems at the Jumping
Turtle, city officials maintain.

In the last two years, sheriff's deputies either have stopped at
or been called to the Jumping Turtle 121 times, according to Sgt.
Glenn Giannantonio. The sergeant said he mistakenly reported
earlier this year that deputies had been called there 137 times,
noting 16 such calls were for businesses that share the same
address, including a liquor store next door.

That's "significantly more" than any other restaurant/bar in the
city, Giannantonio added.

By comparison, Club Tropics, a San Marcos nightclub, had 70
calls for service in the same time period, April 20, 2007, to April
20, 2009, Giannantonio said. That club doesn't allow anyone under
21 at any time.

There have been a couple permit violations at the Jumping Turtle
since the new rules went into effect. But, overall, Giannantonio
said, the Jumping Turtle has changed for the better.